As promised, I’m posting a bit about how Songseeker got started and where the ideas came from. This looking back is a good exercise for me — as long as I don’t get so caught up in it I get lost and lose the story. 🙂

The idea for Songseeker came from a dream. In the summer of 2004 I dreamed an encounter that left an impression. As I recorded in my LiveJournal at the time, “I had a brief impression of unruly black hair trailing down a very tan back, and shockingly blue eyes. He whispered to me, ‘Every song is a prayer. What are your songs?’ And then he was gone, just like that.”

I knew there was a story there, and over the course of the summer I pondered it a lot and came up with this sketch:

All he needed was a setting and a story.

I had to put the idea to bed for a while before I could attend to it, though; 2004-2007 were awash in upheaval and change.

In 2007 I found myself wanting to write a graphic novel, and returned to the character, thinking him a good candidate. I was right! But he and the story would undergo many transmutations before it arrived where it is now.

You may have noticed that updates to Songseeker have been coming less frequently, fewer and far between. I’d like to let you in on a little of what’s been going on.

First of all, Songseeker will continue! I love the story, I can’t wait to see it unfold, and I look forward to sharing it with you!

It may, however, be changing.

I’ve not been happy with the art I’m creating for it. I am new to comic-style writing and art-making, and though it is similar to some of the styles I’ve used in the past, it is still very new to me and it appears to be giving me a steep learning curve. I want to create art I’m happy with, and not rush my work to meet a deadline. At the same time, I don’t want my readers left hanging – which is what I’ve been doing this past year. It’s making me unhappy!

So while I reevaluate the work and how I want to approach it, updates to Songseeker will be postponed. They will not start again until I have a good backlog of work that I can let update at regular (and more frequent!) times. While I build that backlog, I will instead pull some early Songseeker art, and talk about some of my inspiration for the story. Some of this I’ve posted online before, and some I haven’t. I will also talk about each of the Seven Tribes, their backgrounds, and my inspiration for them as well!

So I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I will – and stay with me to see it through!